Offre de thèse en chimie organique (H/F)

The PhD student will join the Laboratoire d'Innovation Moléculaire et Applications (LIMA, UMR CNRS 7042), a key department in molecular chemistry based in Strasbourg. She/He will be part of the COHA team (Chimie Organique et Hétérochimie Appliquées) of Dr. Frédéric R. Leroux and will work under the supervision of Dr. Armen Panossian (principal investigator of the project).

Olefin metathesis is a pivotal transformation in organic chemistry, with numerous applications both in academic research and industrial processes. The key transformation relies on metal-carbene complexes. Yet, many of the metals required for this purpose are critical raw materials due to the high demand but limited stock. Other issues of metal-carbene complexes are the robustness of the catalyst and the contamination of end products by metal residues. While efforts are currently directed towards the development of catalysts based on first-row transition metal complexes, the search for non-metal alternatives has been almost completely overlooked, with only a handful of papers. This project aims to develop main-group element-based catalysts for olefin metathesis.
The activities of the recruited person will consist of defining and optimizing synthetic protocols, carry out the characterization of the products, write reports, participate to draft manuscripts, and will give oral presentations in group seminars and in scientific events.